Carter's (CRI) Competitors

Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ:COLM) and Carter's (NYSE:CRI) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Is COLM or CRI more profitable?

Columbia Sportswear has a net margin of 6.59% compared to Carter's' net margin of 4.79%. Carter's' return on equity of 20.68% beat Columbia Sportswear's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Columbia Sportswear	6.59%	12.97%	7.93%
Carter's	4.79%	20.68%	7.29%

Which has more risk and volatility, COLM or CRI?

Columbia Sportswear has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carter's has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor COLM or CRI?

In the previous week, Columbia Sportswear had 2 more articles in the media than Carter's. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Columbia Sportswear and 7 mentions for Carter's. Carter's' average media sentiment score of 1.74 beat Columbia Sportswear's score of 1.59 indicating that Carter's is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Columbia Sportswear	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Carter's	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in COLM or CRI?

47.8% of Columbia Sportswear shares are owned by institutional investors. 48.3% of Columbia Sportswear shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Carter's shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, COLM or CRI?

Columbia Sportswear has higher revenue and earnings than Carter's. Carter's is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbia Sportswear, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Columbia Sportswear	$3.41B	0.87	$223.27M	$3.92	13.91
Carter's	$2.84B	0.38	$185.51M	$3.77	7.88

Do analysts prefer COLM or CRI?

Columbia Sportswear presently has a consensus target price of $60.80, suggesting a potential upside of 11.54%. Carter's has a consensus target price of $30.25, suggesting a potential upside of 1.85%. Given Columbia Sportswear's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Columbia Sportswear is more favorable than Carter's.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Columbia Sportswear	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Carter's	3 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.40

Is COLM or CRI a better dividend stock?

Columbia Sportswear pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Carter's pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Columbia Sportswear pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Carter's pays out 26.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Carter's is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Columbia Sportswear beats Carter's on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.